Afterwards...

Peaks and valleys. The euphoria of a long-anticipated event, and the crash. I know there's a biochemical aspect to it, part of how God has made us. Knowing helps. But it still kinda stinks. I call it a "camp" adrenaline rush.

So many times it happens. From my teen days, youth camps where I felt so close to God, and then the emotional crash when coming back to the real world. Young Life camp, where I would get really close to a bunch of people, and then it was over. Working on plays, where I was with a cast every single day for two months - and then the last curtain dropped. Mission trips - it's hard to describe the empty feeling in my gut when I part ways with friends I have been with 24/7 for a week or more.

And Christmas.

We do so much to build up to this extravagant holiday. A lot of it is hype, alot of it is ridiculous commercialization - no question about that. But that's not the part that gets me. There is something about traditions with family and friends, as well as the church rituals, that work together to produce the "camp adrenaline rush" in me. And so then there's the crash. I went to a movie yesterday after we finished our family Christmas dinner, and that postponed it. But there it was last night, just like most every Christmas, trip, and big event. Just a mild case of the blahs: Ughhh, it's all over. And here I sit.

And that's another reason I am thankful for Jesus. He came to give us joy and peace - joy and peace that's deeper than the fluctuations of our emotions. When I'm in my sweet spot, serving with friends in Ethiopia or gathered with my family around the Christmas tree, he provides joy deeper than the rush. And when I'm sitting at home after it's all over, wondering why I can't shake a blah feeling, he provides joy stronger than the crash.

He entered history 2,000 years ago, and showed us how to live through the ups and downs. He has been through everything we have, and is there to stand with us. Whether it's some temporary case of the blahs, or dealing with real hurt and sorrow - as I know some of you are - he's there. And he understands.

Hallelujah, what a Savior! So Donnie,

Rejoice! rejoice!
Emmanuel
Has come to thee, O Israel.

Loving it

It's got to be my favorite city. I'm talking about a city as a city. Does that make any sense? There are other destinations more majestic due to creation (e.g., Rocky Mountains) or that have it beat because of people there I love (e.g., Ethiopia). And of course, home is home - nothing like it. But for the sheer joy and energy of being in a great city, it's London.

Everything I love about New York - high energy, great theatre, awesome food - London has it. Then you throw in the fact that it's like, more than a thousand years old and has the architecture to prove it...well, you can't beat it.

We have worked hard while we've been here. But that's why we're here, and even that is pretty cool. And, well, when I step out on the streets of London as the sun goes down, energy pulsates through my veins. I was just walking down Shaftsbury last night saying to myself (and those with me, to their chagrin), "I love this city!"

What a place.

Work is done, and there's one more night before catching a flight home. And the sun is setting...

Yep, I love this city. Time to soak it in.

Random observations from a day in London

Here at the end of my first full day in London, here are just a few random thoughts:

1) I found another sign today that should have been included in yesterday's post. It was in the stairwell of the office where we were meeting:

     

So...I don't think the sign means what they think it means. Hopefully, there's not a place downstairs where bombs are being assembled.

2) Doing the same presentation seven times in one day can be tiresome, but it wasn't really today. I think it's because I find the people over here so interesting, and it's fun having conversations with them - yes, even business conversations.

3) There are doing something really cool here, as explained by my friend Gemma. They did an Easter egg "hunt", where people who spotted one of 209 (I think) huge eggs around the city could text a picture and be eligible for a prize. I wish we would do something like that at home. Here's a picture of one of the eggs:

4) After dinner tonight we went to see a stage version of The Wizard of Oz, produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Here I am in front of the theatre:

It was alot of fun. It used all the music from the movie plus a few original songs by Tim Rice (lyrics) and Mr. Webber (music), who kinda knows a thing or two about writing musicals. The girl playing Dorothy was an understudy, so I enjoyed watching her have her moment in the sun. I think my favorite parts were both in the last ten minutes:

• When Dorothy said to the Scarecrow, "I think I'll miss you most of all", the Tinman and the Cowardly Lion both reacted with "thanks alot" type comments. That is an emotional moment in the movie, but I have always thought that it was weird that the others were ok with that. To see them react to it was hilarious!

• At the close, after Dorothy's family has left her alone in her room, a closet door bursts open and there are the ruby slippers with a single spotlight on them. Dorothy picks them up and the stage goes dark as she hugs them with a single spot on her. First, I love this because it raises the issue, "was it a dream or not?", unlike the movie where it's pretty clear it was a dream. I love that kind of ambiguity that makes you think. But most of all, I loved that it was a pretty clear piece of self-deprecating humor by Mr. Webber. It was a visual parody of the ending of Phantom of the Opera. If you saw it (and you've seen Phantom), you would agree. Awesome!

And while it was a good day over here, yes, Dorothy, you're right - there's no place like home.

Catch Me If You Can

As documented in previous posts like this one, Broadway is one of my favorite places in the world. When I’m anywhere close to there, I want to find a way to catch a show. So as I was planning to visit friends in Pennsylvania this weekend, I decided to add an extra day for a trek into the Big Apple. You may be asking, “Close? Really?” And you would probably have a point – I am currently writing this on a 3 hour train ride from NYC to their city. But 1) for an Alabama boy, that is close, and 2) that’s how much I love it. Rationalization can be a powerful thing.

So….what to see? There were really three choices at the top of the list. The two not chosen were Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark, simply because the music is by U2. How to Succeed in Business, starring Daniel Radcliff. But my niece Macy was in New York earlier this summer and saw Catch Me If You Can and she absolutely loved it. Add to that the fact that the co-star Norbert Butz had spent four years of his career at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in Montgomery and it was the obvious choice.

It. Was. Amazing. It had everything that I love about the genre. A great story to tell, exceptional musical numbers, awesome performances, humor, and even a couple of times where I got a little misty. And it had something I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced before: the original cast intact. I bought the soundtrack on iTunes when I got back to my hotel room, and the performers on the album are the same ones I had just seen perform. How cool is that?

Just to give you a taste, here is a four-minute clip from this year’s Tony Awards. It includes an almost complete version of the song “Don’t Break the Rules”, which was an absolute showstopper. Enjoy:

 

Let me just say that I was highly entertained and walked out of the theatre with a smile on my face. Like a child, I wanted to cry out “Do again!” But also, with the way I’m wired, I never see a movie, listen to a song, read a book, or see a play without thinking about how it fits into and comments on life. CMIYC was no exception. It was a story of a kid who went looking to fill a big hole in his life, one left by a father who taught him some distorted values. It was also the story of an FBI agent who never had children of his own and was also trying to fill a hole in his life by the pursuit of this criminal who continually made him look bad. It dealt with father issues, conditional vs. unconditional love, and the tension between law and grace. I loved the fact that these two long time adversaries found something of what they were looking for in each other. And that unlike Javert of Les Miserables, Agent Carl Hanratty learns that the heart can change. He still believes that the rules must be obeyed and punishment must follow when they are not, but he learns to administer the law with love and grace mixed in. And, like the Prodigal Son, Frank responds to that.

Just a marvelous show. If you’re ever in New York, or if in the future a touring company brings it near you, see it!

Off Broadway

I couldn't resist.  I cannot be this close to NYC and stay away from Broadway.  So this afternoon, after checking into my hotel in Newark, NJ, I jumped in the car and headed toward Manhattan.  (For why I was so close, check out my previous blog post.)

As a side note, I would rather have been in Tallahassee, where my good friend Steve's new Chick-fil-A location was being dedicated.  But work had me here, and "here" is tantalizingly close to one of my favorite places in the world.  So there I went.

I wasn't sure what if anything I might be able to see.  It's Monday night, which for years has traditionally been "dark" on Broadway.  I was prepared to just have a nice dinner in "the city".  But it seems that now some shows are going dark on a different night so that Monday can be active, so when I got to the discount ticket booth in Times Square (pictured below), there were some choices.

Just a few choices, but there were some.  There was Phantom, which I've seen almost as many times as I've seen Wicked.  There was Mamma Mia, which I've seen in Atlanta...nah, not in the mood for ABBA.      There was Rock of Ages, a musical with tons of great 80s music....very tempting, and I almost bought the ticket.  But then I noticed that The Fantasticks was playing Off Broadway.  It originally ran on Broadway for 32 years, making it the longest running show on Broadway.  It's a script I've always liked (based on a couple of college performances I had seen), and I had never seen an Off-Broadway production of anything.  So that's the way I went.

It was, well, a fantastic evening.  (Sorry, couldn't resist.)  It was very interesting to be in NY and see a show in a small theatre on the third floor of a building -- it probably held about 150 people.  I was on the front row, and it was so intimate that many times the actor was looking me directly in the eyes while speaking.  It was an atmosphere that I had only experienced in college theatre or the Octagon at ASF.  To experience that environment with highly professional actors (and singers) was a treat.  Thanks to Edward Watts (El Gallo), Erik Altemus (Matt), Juliette Trafton (Luisa) and the rest of the cast for a wonderful evening.

I started this post intending to spend some time on how the show's script moved me.  About how it paints a picture of life with some points that parallel some truths of Scripture.  The fact that Ms. Trafton listed a Bible verse (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) in her bio makes it even more tempting.  I may do that too in another post, but it can wait.  For now, I just wanted to share that I didn't need the large house, lavish orchestration, and large sets with moving parts to enjoy a night of musical theatre.  Good acting and music along with a funny but deep script were enough.

I love Broadway...hope I get back here soon.  Now I know that the choices for good entertainment are even wider than I thought.  Off-Broadway ain't bad.

Now...back to work in the morning.